The Great Transformation
75 years after the Second World War ended, we are currently facing the Corona-crisis. About two months have passed, and we have already gotten used to the pandemic situation. We keep our distance, work and teach our children from home and are longing to look people in the eyes again.
For some people, it was quite easy to adapt to the new situation, for others it has been harder, but people re-shape their reality and start to reinvent themselves and their new situation.
How this is perceived by many, you can see for yourself by reading the results of the Covid-19 Global Culture Research conducted by the Barrett Values Center (BVC) on a sample of over 2.5 thousand people from all over the world.
Rapid Transformation
According to BVC, we experienced a transformation in just 6 weeks, which would normally take 5-7 years! Despite the fear and uncertainty associated with the pandemic, employees experienced a number of positive changes in companies.
- Focus on performance, control and hierarchy have fallen into the background giving way to people focus, adaptability and working together.
- The level of Cultural Entropy declined from 20 to 17%.
- Employees still experience various obstacles, but they are less concerned about bureaucracy, control and hierarchy, and more about caution, confusion and job insecurity.
During the pandemic, employees experience adaptability, agility, teamwork, digital connectivity, work-life balance, cross group collaboration as key values, which they would like to maintain in the Post Covid era. What they do not yet experience fully, but desire for the future are: employee engagement, innovation, continuous learning and open communication.
The reality of Covid-19 influenced the change in the area of personal values, where the most indications in the study were: making a difference, adaptability, well-being, caring and continuous learning & family.
Change of Energy
The BVC study also indicates a total shift of energy (related to values) from the area of taking care of financial stability, results and achievements to the area related to evolution, i.e. adaptability, digital connectivity, information sharing, agility and work-life balance. Both before and during Covid-19, the focus is on cost reduction and teamwork. In addition, during Covid-19, a huge leap in the hierarchy of values was noted by caring and care for employees’ health.
Differing priorities for Leaders & Employees
The differences between leaders and employees regarding the development of the new reality are very interesting. They are especially visible in 4 areas:
- Direction & communication
- Agility & innovation
- Trust & engagement
- Sustainability & society
Thanks to the global survey, specialist industry reports have also been created, indicating the specific needs and development directions of given industries. If you are interested in details, please refer to key findings on the Barrett Values Center website.
Questions to get your organisation ready
- What do your stakeholders need now?
- What are your organisational needs?
- What is society and the planet calling for?
- How do we re-align our purpose and core business to needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs?
- How does your culture contribute to co-creating the new normal?
Do you want to know how you can get ready for the New Normal, please contact us.
